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Smart tech and sharp thinking are disrupting high-street banks

This article was taken from the August 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content bysubscribing online.

In the near future, your phone will become your electronic wallet and full-service bank -- just not in the traditional sense.

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Mobile banking, aka mbanking, covers typical bank functions such as balance checks, transactions and transfers, peer-to-peer currency loans and exchanges, as well as "touch and go" payment systems. The smartphone is behind a massive reinvention of what banks are, transforming how we pay and redefining what we think of as "currency". In 2010 mbanking rose by 200 per cent in Kenya and by 100 percent in the US. Step aside, HSBC.

Boku turns your phone credit into currency. At the checkout, consumers can give their mobile number, reply to a text message to confirm the purchase and have the amount debited from their phone bill. boku.com

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Like Square, iZettle (pictured) lets anyone take card payments, this time using their iPhone and an iZettle reader. The difference lies in the technology: Square reads the magnetic strip; iZettle, chip and PIN.